DuPont to set up $50 million R&D centre in Hyderabad

Bangalore: US-based products and services company, DuPont, plans to open a knowledge centre in Hyderabad with an investment of $50 million and accommodate 500 R&D professionals in the first phase. The centre is expected to be operational next year.

The company said only basic R&D would be conducted at the centre. The bulk of the company's R&D work is now being conducted in the US and some work will be shifted to India in addition to the centre carrying out R&D efforts to meet specific requirements of the Indian market. DuPont offers a range of products and services for markets. These include agriculture and food, building and construction, communications, and transportation. It has six manufacturing facilities in India in three sites in India- Baroda, Madurai and Hyderabad.

DuPont has close to 700 employees in India and employee strength is growing at more than 25 per cent every year, officials said. The company has also started sourcing essential materials from India for global products.

The company has also opened a DuPont Refinish Training Center here, where it would focus on three major DuPont brands 'Centari', 'LE' and 'Standox' -, its second such facility in the country after the one in Baroda.